Grumbles from a British Egyptian woman. I study Politics, Philosophy & History in an attempt to make sense of the World & all the stuff that happens in it.

Category Archives: Feminism

Victim-blaming is the predictable & cowardly response to rape by those who hate women. It’s a universal & hateful response to violence against women & a way simply, to abuse power to try & subdue & degrade women. We have the right to participate in our society, we won’t be cowed into not taking our rightful place and fight for our rights by these organised sexual terrorists.

We saw it in India, after the uproar following the gang-rape & murder of the student. We see it almost everytime there is a rape case in the mainstream media (think DSK, Assange, etc etc). How stupid do you have to be to think that the person responsible for rape is the person doing it?

Before anyone comes up with that stupid ‘you wouldn’t leave your car/house/valuables unlocked’ argument, we are human beings, ok? We should be able to go about our lives without the fear of sexual harrassment & violence, and being blamed for it when it happens. It’s not us that’s doing it now, is it? What does it say about their attitudes to Egyptian women, that they are on the same sides as the rapists? I’ll let you make up your own mind.

I read the papers and online testimonials of mob attacks on women in the streets protesting and if I had not read the titles, I would have thought that the authors had suddenly taken a keen interest in the every day life of street children. I would have justifiably concluded they have become avid observers who have taken to the street to highlight the prevalence and normality of sexual violence in street culture that very little children live every night. But no, I have read the title; the words indicate this is about other girls; younger and older women, “welaad naas”, of the working and middle class (because remember street kids are the “excluded” class, second class citizens if that!). These articles are written because “citizens” have been struck, “citizens” honour has been violated; “citizens” human rights have been wronged. But street children? They aren’t citizens – they don’t even…

This video (I know I probably should, but can’t bring myself to watch it until the end) shows a woman being attacked, brutalised and raped by a pack of men in Tahrir Square.

This ongoing & increasing sexual terrorism against the women of Egypt must stop! This pandemic of sexual violence was bad enough before the revolution, but it is now being deployed as a weapon against women on a scale never seen before.

The terrible case of the lady who was gang-raped & murdered on a bus in India was horrifying. What followed though, gave me some hope. Seeing the women and men of India rise up against the travesty that is misogyny & sexual violence was a beautiful and surprising phenomena. It gave me hope that something similar would happen in Egypt.

Alas! Not yet! Our prime minister seems more obsessed with dirty breasts that the dirty attacks on innocent women. The silence of those who should be cracking down on this is deafening. Every single Egyptian who is not on the side of those rapists and sexual terrorists should be out there protecting the dignity, freedoms & rights of their sisters and protesting this travesty on society.

Hope is not lost, though, there are many who are standing up against this, and I hope that it will increase rapidly. Please join the women of Egypt in solidarity next Tuesday. If you’re in London, please come to the embassy at 6PM.

It was with a heavy yet lifted heart that I read the story of the fearless women in Egypt who fought back and kicked the arses of armed pathetic self-styled morality police who had come to threaten, beat & oppress them because their insecurities were so aroused and their ‘morality’ so offended at these women (SHOCK!! HORROR!!) visiting a beauty salon. You can read the story here http://bikyamasr.com/53028/egyptian-women-cane-morality-police/

It’s ominous that these groups have sprung up so quickly and with funding from you-know-where. It’s nothing short of sexual terrorism and I only hope that it is resisted every step of the way. We only have to cast our eyes over to you-know-where, the holiest of holies, to see the dangerous consequences of the prototypal ‘morality police’ and wahhabi/salafi oppression institutionalised – the murder of free will. It’s not just women who will be targetted. They will want to infantilise us all and control every aspect of everybody’s lives except their own. We must fight for our lives, or this will be a new dark age in Egypt.

It has been many moons since I have blogged. It has been one hell of a year & I am relieved to see the back of it, in spite of the joys it held.

Since I last blogged, I have watched those murderous so called humans in SCAF overtake Mubarak in brutality, corruption of democracy & old-fashioned evil. I have watched the murders, the tear-gassing, the torture victims, the brutality, the lawlessness, the baltagiyeen (state-sponsored thugs), the divisive propoganda, the use of chemical weapons and bullets and sexual violence, the incitement of sectarian violence, the relentless campaigns against those who brought us the revolution by those who should be cherishing & protecting the revolution but instead choose to vote with their feet and their soldiers to try & steal as much power as they can.

I have watched as anti-revolutionary political entrepeneurs in SCAF, the Brotherhood (or so called ‘Freedom & Justice’ party, what a joke) and the Salafis in Al-Noor bastardise our words and their meanings; ‘Dignity’,’Stability’, ‘Freedom’, ‘Justice’, ‘Democracy’. Words which had real meaning to those on the streets and those who gave up their lives, now words with no meaning when it comes from those three institutions, they say those words with their fingers crossed behind their backs. Every time they utter one of those words, what it really means to them is ‘more power to me’, that is all they aspiring to.

Let us also remember the external political entrepeneurs who are so busy meddling & pouring dirty oily bloody money into Egypt right now, all enablers of the outrages that have already happened & the ones to come… SCAF, have at every opportunity blamed ‘foreign interests and funding’ for violence, denounced and attacked human rights NGOs, the 6th April movement and anyone who represents a threat to them for being funded by these shady foreigners. Yet, would they have been able to maintain their violence and monopoly of power over everybody without the weapons & US ‘aid’ that they rely on themselves? Let’s also remember something that the vast majority of these political players and the ones in the past, like Mubarak, SCAF, Egyptian parliament, Al-Noor party, Islamic Brotherhood and so on, all have in common, in spite of their differences – they have two things – A thirst/greed for power – and penises.

I have watched with special pride and frustration as my sisters of Egypt yet gain rose up & stood fearlessly against oppression again. Those of you who have read my blogposts before will know that I think that without the full involvement of women at every stage, this is a useless and half-baked revolution. In fact, I still call for a feminist revolution of women. As once again, after giving up lives and fighting for the same rights as the men, women have been sidelined. The culture of obedience that should have been smashed once and for all last January is still the status quo for women in Egypt. I am very worried for our future with the proclaimations of those who would rule. I will say it again – I still think that only a feminist uprising and revolution will save us! Like I’ve said before, we need revolutions of the minds as well as the streets. Those Wise Men that have and will rule have shown themselves time and time again to not be up to the job. The nepotism of the Egyptian penis has gone too far. How many times will we let them fail us before we change things for ourselves?

I have hope though. Samira Ahmed is just one example of a brave woman who triumphed against SCAF & held them up to scrutiny in the Courts of Justice, where they failed. This was after she had been subjected to so-called virginity tests after protesting. (Don’t be fooled by the name, the simple truth of it is they are not virginity tests, but state-sponsored rapes, how else can you describe forced penetration of any type, under duress?). The sight of so many women and men on the streets demanding womens’ rights and freedoms was a beautiful and long overdue one. I hope to see much more of this in 2012.

Of course, there are so many things I have watched and so many people that have filled me with inspiration. The release of Alaa Abd Elfattah was a great moment, let’s hope the other thousands of political prisoners who have suffered the injustice of unfair military trials under an illegitimate military dictatorship follow suit. Maikel Nabil, who was on hunger strike for so long, suffered so many injustices for standing against military trials, for being a consciencious objecter and for telling the truth – that the army and people were never one hand. He still sticks to his guns principles and refuses to compromise them. How can I not have hope when there are so many inspirational people out there whose principles may help save us? When Aliaa Elmahdy shed her clothes in a big FUCK YOU to her oppression, that gave me hope too & a massive grin too. Good on her, too.

Well, today’s the day that we celebrate women and commiserate on the secondary role that women are forced to occupy in many aspects of our lives. It is a beautiful sight to see so many women (& men!) out in solidarity and with equality in their minds.

On Saturday, I went to a wonderful event organised by several charities called 6 billion ways, which was all about ‘making another world possible’. Imagine my excitement when I saw that revolutionary socialist and activist Gigi Ibrahim was speaking. She has been a loud and eloquent member of the revolution who has (in my opinion) been a wonderful ambassador for Egyptian women and one who I have been proud to see, as it shatters many ideas that I have encountered about Muslim/Arab women (such as being passive and without a voice). I asked her at the end of her presentation about the revolution about the representation of women and what part she thought that feminism played in the revolution and what role the revolution will play in the future of feminism in Egypt and more widely in the Middle East? I guess she gets asked this alot, or about the role of women in Egypt as she replied that she is sick of being asked this question and that women played their part in the revolution and were present and that the problem of gender discrimination/inequality is NOT big in Egypt, and the big problem is class discrimination. I have to say, I was quite disturbed by her reply. She said that they do not show women on the media, but that they are present and represented. I think she also assumed that I was British (& didn’t really know what I was asking about). It’s a shame that I was not given the opportunity to respond, as I know personally that gender is a big issue in Egypt. I would like to know if she thinks it acceptable that women have not had a SINGLE representative on the national committee which was created to write and establish the new constitution, which illustrates why inequality is a problem which doesn’t seem to have ended with the revolution.

Personally, I find class and gender discrimination a big problem, as well as many other types of discrimination and inequality in Egypt. There is a problem with racism, as well as homophobia, some religious intolerence and many other problems. I do think, however, that discrimination against women is rampant and needs to be addressed URGENTLY in Egypt and I am extremely upset that the lives of my sisters that fell in this revolution seem to be valued less than those of the men. Why are we being denied the opportunity to rebuild Egypt. How are we expected to change the entrenched bigotry that blights womens’ lives all the time if we are not present in the committees that will be shaping our new country. I am still impressed with Gigi’s story and with her bravery, activism & eloquence. I do hope, though, that more women of Egypt are given a platform, as Gigi was literally the first woman (& even man) that comes from Egypt that I have spoken to that denies that there is a problem with gender inequality in Egypt. Perhaps women that aren’t sick of being asked questions that they don’t like, it’s not exactly the best decorum for a speaker on a panel to have that kind of attitude – not the best impression to give. I hope that more Egyptian women are given a platform, heaven knows we have precious few!

Lastly, I think the actions of the men attacking my sisters in Tahrir today, who were marching for the advancement of womens’ rights and to celebrate International Womens Day (the first time they have been able to!) is an illustration of the entrenched endemic hate that many men have with women in Egypt. I am sick of this problem being brushed under the carpet. If being attacked, insulted, spat upon, harrassed and sexually harrassed is what women are putting up with in public with the media present and on a day like today, then imagine what they go through everyday of their lives?

I don’t feel like there is much to celebrate today as I see the plight of women today in the world. All I can hope for is that this time next year, I can look back at today and think about how much things have changed for the better.

I have said it before and I will say it again – Egypt needs a feminist revolution. The time is now or never.